Limited success last week does not guarantee success this week in Basel, Switzerland as several seeds and some unseeded threats have crashed out on day 2.

Mens Singles:

Last week’s beaten finalist will not make it a repeat performance this week as Du Pengyu defeated the Japanese player 21-12, 21-18 to book his place in the last 8. He will play Hu Yun of Hong Kong in the quarterfinal after he defeated Dicky Palyama in three games to progress through. Tien Minh Nguyen has put his early exit last week behind to book his place in the last 8 with a two-game victory over Carl Baxter of England.

Nguyen’s opponent in the last 8 is the 3rd seed, Chen Jin. The Chinese player defeated Joachim Persson in two games to progress into tomorrow’s quarterfinals. Chen Long has also put his early defeat in last week’s All England to the back of his mind as he progressed to the quarterfinals to play against Kazushi Yamada, who defeated the 4th seed Taufik Hidayat in two games to play in tomorrow’s quarterfinals.

The last of the quarterfinals is the match of the day for tomorrow, as 2nd seed Lin Dan takes over 5th seed, Peter Gade. The Chinese 2nd seed has been in excellent form in the opening two rounds with comfortable two game victories and the same can be said for Gade, who defeated Park Sung Hwan 21-15, 21-16 to progress into the last 8.

Women’s Singles

Wang Yihan suffered a surprise 21-17, 24-22 loss in the second round to Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong who will now go on to play Wang Shixian, the 6th seed from China for a place in Saturday’s semi final.

2nd seed Jiang Yanjiao has been the story of the opening two rounds, with her stunning 21-7, 21-3 win in round 1 over Susan Egelstaff of Scotland and her 21-16, 21-5 victory over Chen Hsiao Huan of Chinese Taipei making a real threat in the competition, she will play 8th seeded Juliane Schenk of Germany in the last 8 after the German defeated Bae Seung Hee of Korea to progress.

3rd seeded Pi Hongyan is also through after defeated her second Japanese opponent in two days, today Ai Goto was defeated 21-19, 21-18. Unseeded Bae Joun Joo is the French 3rd seed opponent for tomorrow after winning the all-Korean clash against Kim Moon Hi 22-20, 21-17.

World Champion Lu Lan is through the last 8 with a 21-15, 21-13 win over Eriko Hirose of Japan. She will play unseeded Russian Ella Diehl in the quarterfinal after Diehl defeated Switzerland’s Jeannine Cicognini 21-19, 21-17 to book her place in the last 8.

Mens Doubles:

Paaske and Rasmussen continue their superb run of form over the past few weeks as they reached the quarterfinals with a two game victory over Fuchs and Kindervater. Top seeded Koo and Tan are also through to the last 8 after defeating Bonde and Mollyhus 21-15, 21-11. The top seeds will play unseeded Korean duo of Kim and Shin for a place in the last 4.

Women’s Doubles:

The final 8 partnerships in the women’s doubles are the 8 seeds, almost unheard of at this level. Top seeds Chin and Wong will play 5th seeds Maeda and Suetsuna for a place in the last 4 against the winners of Ha and Lee of Korea, seeded 8 and Nedelcheva and Russkikh, the 4th seeds.

Chen and Chien, the Chinese Taipei 3rd seeds will play Chinese 6th seeds Du and Pan for a place in the last 4 against the winners of the 7thseeds Tian and Yu against Fujii and Kakiiwa of Japan, the 2nd seeds and Korean Super Series runners-up.

Mixed Doubles:

It is another shock early defeat for Zheng Bo and Ma Jin in the mixed doubles, losing out to unseeded Chen and Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-14, 21-16. They will play another unseeded pair in the quarterfinal, Shin and Yoo of Korean who defeated another Korean couple, the 8th seeded Ko and Ha to progress into the last 8.

World Champions and 3rd seeds, Laybourn and Rytter Juhl are also through after a stunning 21-4, 21-8 victory of Dutch qualifiers Khodabux and Barning. They will play the unseeded Chinese pair of Zhang and Tian, Zhang winning the mixed doubles last week with Zhao Yunlei.

7th seeds Mateusiak and Kostiuczyk of Poland are also through and will play the 2nd of 3 Korean pairs left in the draw, Yoo and Kim. The final match tomorrow pits the 5th seeded Chinese pair of Tao and Zhang against the 2nd seeded Korean duo Lee and Lee, the 3rd Korean partnership left in the draw.

The fourth Super Series of the year will have a new winner in the men’s singles, with Lee Chong Wei pulling out after his All England success at the weekend. Tine Rasmussen has also pulled out after winning the women’s singles at the All Englands. For some players, it will be a chance to continue on from their excellent run from last week, Kenichi Tago was set to meet Lee Chong Wei in Round 2, but will have a much better chance to progress to a potential quarter final against Jan O Jorgensen.

Mens Singles:

Lin Dan is the top seed left in the draw and will hope to have a better run than at the All Englands last week, his first round match is against Polish #1 Przemyslaw Wacha and has a potential matchup with Peter Gade in the last 8. 3rd seed Chen Jin begins his campaign against Marc Zweibler of Germany and 4th seed Taufik Hidayat will start against a qualifier.

Women’s Singles

Top seed Wang Yihan will attempt to put her finals defeat to Tine Rasmussen behind her with a first round win over Jie Yao of the Netherlands. Susan Egelstaff will play the 2nd seeded Jiang Yanjiao in the first round, the Scottish #1 narrowly losing to 2009 world champion Lu Lan in Round 2 last week. Pi Hongyan is the big European hope, the 3rd seed plays Sayaka Sato of Japan in Round 1.

Mens Doubles:

Top seeded Koo and Tan will want to put their first round defeat behind them also, but they play another Danish pair in the first round this week also in Kristiansen and Henriksen. The 2nd seeds Lee and Jung have Danish opponents also in Conrads-Petersen and Pieler Kolding, with a potential matchup against last week’s winners Paaske and Rasmussen in the quarter finals. The 8th seeded Paaske and Rasmussen play a qualifier in their first round match.

Women’s Doubles:

The Chinese are not well represented this week in the event, with top seeds being Chin and Wong of Malaysia. Korean Open runners-up Fujii and Kakiiwa are the second seeds and play the German/Canadian pair of Nicole Grether and Charmine Reid in round 1. The Chinese highest seed is the 6th seeded Du and Pan, they will play Jung and Kim of Korean in Round 1.

Mixed Doubles:

The top seeded Zheng and Ma will start against a qualifier in Round 1, with the big challenges coming from Ko and Ha, the 8th seeds from Korea who they could meet in the quarter final and their potential semi final opponents, the 3rd seeded Laybourn and Rytter Juhl of Denmark. The other side of the draw sees 2nd seeded Lee and Lee of Korea start against the English pair of Middleton and Agathangelou,

In this edition we discuss the results from the recently completed All England Super Series 2010. I was joined by BWF Players Commission Chairman Bobby Milroy. Milroy is also the President of ClearOne Sports which operates ClearOne Badminton Center in Vancouver, Canada.

It was the year of the unseeded players to shine, a resurrection of Danish badminton and a dream realized for one of the best players ever as Lee Chong Wei took his first All England Championships. Tine Rasmussen avenged her 2009 defeat and a new force in mixed doubles shone on the biggest stage.

Mens Singles:

Unseeded Kenichi Tago looked for one last sensational performance in a week he will consider one of the best of his career to date, all that stood in his way of the most stunning of stories was the winner of the Korean and Malaysian Super Series events, Lee Chong Wei. The Japanese player lead for most of the opening game before a 6-point run for the top seed put him ahead and despite a stern fightback by Tago, Lee Chong Wei took the game 21-19.

The second game was more comfortable for Lee Chong Wei, despite several fightbacks by Tago to level the scores up, he was unable to take the lead in the second game. Tago managed to save two match points from 17-20 down but Lee Chong Wei took the match at the third attempt to claim his first All England title 21-19, 21-19.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kb35lJmj8o[/youtube]

Women’s Singles:

The final turned into a repeat of the 2009 final, with Tine Rasmussen taking on Wang Yihan. The opening game was dominated by the Dane, never letting Wang Yihan into it and winning the game 21-14. The Chinese top seed turned the match on it’s head with a dominating performance in the second game, a game she lead for the majority of and won 21-18 to take the match into a deciding game. The third game was a much tighter encounter, as both players held the lead at stages throughout, with the match poised at 19-19, Tine Rasmussen calmly served out to win the title 21-19 and avenge her 2009 defeat to Wang Yihan.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q12M3gq2MfI[/youtube]

Mens Doubles:

An All-Danish final guaranteed a second title for Denmark as Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen took on 4th seeded Boe and Mogensen. The unseeded pair had defeated the top seeds and 3rd seeds to reach this point and needed just one win over the 4th seeds to cap off an incredible week in Birmingham. The opening game was a tight affair, with the 4th seeds leading for most of the game before a late fightback from the unseeded Paaske and Rasmussen gave them a late lead, only for the 4th seeds to retake the lead to win the opening game 23-21 after saving two games points.

The second game was a copy of the first, only this time Paaske and Rasmussen led most of the way only to slip up late on but rallied back to take the second game 21-19 to set up a deciding game. The third game was a superb encounter, with the duos exchanging points with each other for the opening 18 points, Paaske and Rasmussen then broke into a slight lead, only to be reeled back in at 18-18 and then the 4th seeds saved a match point and then had four chances to win the match before Paaske and Rasmussen strung three points together from 23-24 down to win the match 26-24.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R270DZnPhc[/youtube]

Women’s Doubles:

The All-Chinese final was between the top seeded Du and Yu and 3rd seeded Zhao and Cheng. The first game was dominated by the lower seeded Zhao and Cheng before giving up an 18-13 lead to allow the top seeds a game point in the first, before coming back to win the game 22-20. The second game looked to be going the same way but Du and Yu reeled off 7 points from 15-12 down to an unassailable lead in the game to win the second game and level the match up at 21-16.

The top seeds had the momentum in third and proved why they were the top seeded pair in the event with another run of points late in the third game to give them a lead that they would never give up and won the third game 21-13.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5nWk1htxfY[/youtube]

Mixed Doubles:

Unseeded Zhang and Zhao had defeated the 1st, 4th and 8th seeds to reach the final and had another seed standing in their way of their unlikely mixed doubles success in the 2nd seeded Widianto and Natsir. The second seeds started off the better and took a lead for most of the game. At 14-18 down, the Chinese pair reeled off point after point before winning the opening game with their first game point and a 7-point streak to take a shock lead in the match. The second game was a much tighter affair but the Chinese pair managed to stay in touch and had two chances in the second game to win the match before the 2nd seed clinched the second game 25-23 to set up a deciding third game.

Natsir and Widianto continued on in the third game from where they finished in the second, opening an early 9-3 lead. The Chinese continued to chip into the lead and levelled the scores at 14-14 and reeled an important three point run off at 16-16 to give them breathing space, Natsir and Widianto brought it back to 19-18, then the Chinese pair calmly served out to claim their first All England title, winning the deciding game 21-18.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdXmfPit9Ms[/youtube]

The unlikely upset against Lee Chong Wei had to be done for Gade to reach the final but it was another unlikely man who reached the All England Final. However, the day has been a successful one for Danish Badminton.

Mens Singles:

The dream that was Peter Gade’s 2nd All England title ended today as top seed Lee Chong Wei continued his excellent run in the Super Series with his third final of the year and ending Peter Gade’s fabulous run at the semi final stage, the Malaysian winning 21-17, 21-14 in 47 minutes.

In the other semi final, world #20 Kenichi Tago played 6th seeded Bao Chunlai, who defeated Lin Dan in the quarterfinals. The first game was dominated by the Chinese 6th seed, winning 21-18, however the second game was a much tighter affair but Bao Chunlai had a chance at 20-19 to book his place in the final, only for the unseeded Japanese player to win the next three points to take it into a third game. Tago was clearly motivated by his second game victory and dominated the deciding game and won the match on his third match point, winning the 3rd game 21-18 to book his place in the All England Final.

Tine Rasmussen done what Peter Gade could not and reached the final, her third final in succession with a 21-19, 21-17 victory over the 7th seeded Saina Nehwal in her semi final match, The 2010 final will be a rematch of the 2009 final, with top seed Wang Yihan defeating her Chinese compatriot Wang Xin in the second semi final, the 2009 winner coming through 21-17, 26-24.

The Danish success continued in the men’s doubles, with an All-Danish final. 4th seeded Boe and Mogensen booked their place first with a win over Guo and Xu, the 7th seeds from China, winning the match 21-16, 21-16. Unseeded Paaske and Rasmussen continued their love affair with the NIA, the location of their world championship victory in 2003. They defeated the 3rd seeds Kido and Setiawan in three superb games to book their place in tomorrow’s final, winning 14-21, 21-13, 23-21.

An all-Chinese final was assured in the women’s doubles, but it is an unlikely final with the 3rd seeded Zhao and Cheng defeating last weeks German Open winners and 2nd seeded Ma and Wang in the semi final, winning 21-17, 21-18 in 49 minutes. The other semi final pitted the top seeds Du and Yu against Pan and Tian, with the first game being won narrowly by the top seeds 24-22, with Pan and Tian having the opportunity to win the game at 21-20 after saving 4 games points previously. The second game was too much for the unseeded pair and the top seeds progressed 24-22, 21-10.

There was unseeded success for a Chinese pair in the mixed doubles, with Zhao Yunlei reaching her second All England Final after winning her women’s doubles semi final against Ma and Wang, she partnered up with Zhang Nan to defeated the 4th seeds and fellow countrymen He Hanbin and Yu Yang to reach the final, winning 21-14, 23-21. They will meet the 2nd seeded Widianto and Natsir in the final, as they defeated 3rd seeds Lee and Lee in the other semi final 21-16, 18-21, 21-8 to book their place in the final.

Peter Gade’s dream for a second All England title is still alive as the big threat in the bottom half crashes out. It has been a poor day for Chinese badminton as Lu Lan, Chen Jin and Cai and Fu have all crashed out today. Play was still going on well after 11pm tonight with so many three-game matches going down to the wire.

Mens Singles:

Peter Gade’s quest is still on, after coming through a 81-minute classic with Taufik Hidayat with the Dane coming through 20-22, 22-20, 22-20. Gade plays Lee Chong Wei after coming back from a game down against Shon Wan Ho of Korea to win the match 14-21, 21-14, 21-14.

The big news of the day is the shock defeat of Lin Dan to fellow countryman Bao Chunlai, the 6th seed coming through 21-16, 18-21, 21-17 to set up a semi final clash with unseeded Japanese player Kenichi Tago. Tago defeated the 3rd seed, Chen Jin in the quarterfinals 22-20, 19-21, 21-13 to book his place in his first All England semi final.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs2B77k9zT0[/youtube]

Women’s Singles:

Tine Rasmussen showed flashes of her brilliance in her three-game victory over 6th seed and current world champion Lu Lan, winning the match 16-21, 23-21, 21-11 and had to save 3 match points at 17-20 down in the second game. Rasmussen will play the 7th seed Saina Nehwal in the semi finals after the Indian defeated Juliane Schenk 21-8, 21-14 in their quarterfinal match.

The second semi final is an all-Chinese affair with top seed and defending champion Wang Yihan playing Wang Xin. The top seed defeated 8th seed Zhou Mi 21-9, 11-21, 21-17 to book her place in tomorrow’s semi final. Wang Xin defeated 3rd seed and fellow Chinese player Jiang Yanjiao 21-15, 21-14 to reach the semi final against top seed Wang Yihan.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch7id6xVnlg[/youtube]

Mens Doubles:

Paaske and Rasmussen are through to the All England semi final after another fabulous victory over Gan and Tan of Malaysia, the Danish pair winning 21-18, 22-20. They will play the 3rd seeded Kido and Setiawan after they defeated 8th seed Lee and Choong in their quarterfinal 21-17, 21-11 to book their place against the Danes in the semi final.

There was more Danish success with Boe and Mogensen defeating last years champions Cai and Fu in the quarterfinal, winning 21-17, 18-21, 21-18 in a 68-minute thriller. The second seeds Lee and Jung suffered a surprise defeat against 7th seeded Xu and Guo, the Chinese pair winning 21-18, 21-10 to book their place against the 4th seeds Boe and Mogensen.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQoE3pudFkM[/youtube]

Women’s Doubles:

The top seeded Du and Yu are through to the semi final without looking like dropping a game all week, they defeated the 6th seeded Maeda and Suetsuna of Japan 21-11, 21-9 to book their place against Pan and Tian in an all-Chinese semi final. The unseeded Chinese duo defeated Polii and Jauhari of Indonesia 25-23, 17-21, 21-17 to book their place against the top seeds. The other semi final is another all-Chinese encounter, with the 3rd seeded Cheng and Zhao defeating Lee and Ha of Korea 21-11, 21-19 to progress into the last 4. They will play Ma and Wang, the 2nd seeds in the semi final after they defeated Chen and Chien of Chinese Taipei 21-12, 21-15.

Mixed Doubles:

Qualifiers Zhang and Zhao of China continue their improbable run with another win over a seeded couple, today defeating the 8th seeded Gunawan and Marissa of Indonesia 21-16, 21-18. The will play another Chinese pair in the semi final, the 4th seeded He and Yu after their 13-21, 21-18, 21-18 win over Tao and Zhang, the 6th seeds from China.

The English interest in the competition ended today with both pairs losing out to their seeded opponents, Clark and Olver losing out 21-19, 21-17 to Lee and Lee of Korea, the 3rd seeds whilst Robertson and Wallwork lost out to the 2nd seeds Widianto and Natsir 21-18, 21-19. The two seeded couples will meet in the semi finals for a place in Sunday’s final.

The second day was a stronger day for the seeds, however another top seed has fallen before the quarterfinal stage. Peter Gade continues on his quest for his second All England title as the top players in the world position themselves for a run at the title.

Mens Singles:

First on court again and safely into the quarterfinals was Lee Chong Wei with a fine victory over Sony Dwi Kunncoro 21-11, 21-17. He will play unseeded Korean Shon Wan Ho who defeated Chen Long in a three-game classic 21-18, 18-21, 21-19 after Chen Long disposed of 8th seeded Jorgensen in round 1 yesterday. The other quarterfinal in the top half is perhaps the match of the day tomorrow between 4th seed Taufik Hidayat and 5th seed Peter Gade. Hidayat safely through against Englishman Andrew Smith 21-18, 21-14 and Gade survived a first game scare to win 24-22, 21-18 over Simon Santoso.

The bottom half sees unseeded Kenichi Tago through to see Chen Jin in the first quarterfinal. Tago has progressed through two tough matches, playing Tien Ming Nguyen in round 1 and defeating Joachim Persson, last years 6th seed in three games, 22-24, 21-15, 21-8 to book his place against the 3rd seed from China. Chen Jin safely progressed after a tight opening game against another English player Rajiv Ouseph, winning in two games, 23-21, 21-8.

Lin Dan is also through to tomorrow’s quarterfinal where he will play Bao Chunlai, the 6th seed from China. Bao Chunlai’s phenomenal performance over Park Sung Hwan that seen him 13-0 in the opening game, before winning the match 21-5, 21-10. Lin Dan has failed to explode into life as yet but continues to progress in the tournament with another two-game victory over Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZCczrDyaD4[/youtube]

Women’s Singles:

Wang Yihan was the first of the seeds through to the last 8 of the tournament with a 21-16, 21-16 win over Yu Hirayama of Japan. She will play the 8th seeded Zhou Mi in the quarterfinals after the all-Hong Kong second round match between her and Wang Chen was won by the 8th seed, 21-13, 21-15. The second quarterfinal match in the top half is an all-Chinese affair with 3rd seeded Jiang Yanjiao coming through her second round match against Maria Febe Kusamastuti 21-9, 21-14 to set up a match against Wang Xin, the 5th seed. She defeated Ai Goto of Japan 21-12, 21-13 to book her place in tomorrow’s quarterfinal.

Saina Nehwal booked her place in the last 8 with a win over Bae Sueng Hee of Korea, 21-11, 22-20 and will play unseeded Juliane Schenk of Germany, who also defeated a Korean to reach the quarterfinal stage, beating Bae Youn Joo 21-14, 21-16 to set up a match against the 7th seeded Nehwal. The last of the 4 quarterfinal matches is the pick of the bunch, with Tine Rasmussen playing 6th seed Lu Lan of China. Rasmussen progressed easily past Eriko Hirose 21-12, 21-12 to book her place whilst Lu Lan had to fight for a tight three-game victory over Scotland’s Susan Egelstaff, winning in the end 25-23, 20-22, 21-17 to reach the last 8 of the competition.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-P2LuwAYQQ[/youtube]

Mens Doubles:

Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen continue their fantastic run at this year’s competition with a 21-18, 21-19 victory over Ko and Yoo of Korea. They will play Tan and Gan of Malaysia in the last 8 after they defeated Chinese pairing of Chai and Zhang 21-8, 23-21. The two pairings are the only two non-seeded partnerships left in the men’s doubles draw. Kido and Setiawan also progressed, winning 21-16, 21-16 over qualifiers Endo and Hirobe of Japan and the 3rd seeds will play Lee and Choong of Malaysia in the last 8 after the 8th seeds fought back from a game down to win 17-21, 23-21, 21-11.

The third of the quarterfinals sees the 5th seeded Cai and Fu play the 4th seeded Boe and Mogensen for a place in the semi finals. Cai and Fu winning 21-11, 21-17 over their Korean opponents Kim and Shin whilst Boe and Mogensen came through a much tighter match, winning 22-20, 21-19 over Fan and Lee of Chinese Taipei. The second seeds Lee and Jung have been the class pairing in the competition to date, winning both matches to date in convincing fashion, today defeating Kumar and Thomas of India 21-12, 21-6 to book their place in the last 8 against Guo and Xu of China, the 7th seeds. The Chinese pair defeating local favourites Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark 21-14, 21-11 to book their place in the last 8.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybYnP_tzQkM[/youtube]

Women’s Doubles:

There is a distinctly Asian feel to the event, with all 8 pairings coming from China, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei or Indonesia. Top seeded Du and Yu are through to the quarter final after a 21-8, 21-12 win over Sorokina and Vislova of Russia and will play the Japanese 6th seeds Maeda and Suetsuna in the last 8. The Japanese pair defeating Wallwork and White over England 21-23, 21-9, 21-8 to set up an all-seeded match in the quarters.

Wang and Ma are also through to the last 8 with a stunning 21-4, 21-7 win over Amitapai and Munkit of Thailand, they will play Chen and Chien of Chinese Taipei who beat the Bulgaria/Russian partnership of Anastasia Russkikh and Petya Nedelcheva 24-22, 21-9 to book their place in the last 8 of the event.

Mixed Doubles:

The top seeds Zheng Bo and Ma Jin were expected to contest for the title on Sunday, but were defeated by the Chinese qualifiers Zhang and Zhao 21-16, 21-17 to book their place in the last 8. They will play the 8th seeded Gunawan and Marissa after their 21-14, 21-16 victory over Fujii and Hashimoto. He and Yu’s match against Blair and Bankier did not go ahead with Robert Blair’s leg injury forcing him to retire from the event. The 4th seeds He and Yu will play another Chinese pair, the 6th seeded Tao and Zhang after a three-game match with Mateusiak and Kostiucyzk 20-22, 21-18, 21-12.

There is English interest in the quarterfinals, with Anthony Clark and Heather Olver through to the last 8 against a 21-18, 22-20 win over Lee and Chien of Chinese Taipei. They will play the 3rd seeds, Lee and Lee of Korean after their victory in their all-Korean second round match against Yoo and Kim, winning 21-13, 21-17. The second English pair play in the last of the quarterfinals, with Jenny Wallwork and Nathan Robertson defeating the 7th seeds, Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl 21-14, 16-21, 21-15. They will play the second seeds Widianto and Natsir after their 21-12, 21-8 win over Careme and Choinet of France

Day 1 and the unpredictability of the opening round has slashed the amount of seeds left in the draw, including a top seed falling at the opening hurdle. Several seeds have also came through in tight affairs to book their place in the second round.

Mens Singles:

The first seed to book his place in the second round was Taufik Hidayat with a three game victory over Hu Yun 17-21, 21-11, 21-12. He plays Andrew Smith in the second round after the local favourite beat Eric Pang 21-10, 21-11 in his opening round match.

Lee Chong Wei booked his second round place with a 21-15, 21-16 with over Chetan Anand of India to set up a fantastic second round match with Sony Dwi Kunncoro of Indonesia after he defeated Du Pengyu 21-19, 21-10. The first seed to fall happened soon after Lee Chong Wei’s win as Jan O Jorgensen suffered a first round defeat to Chen Long of China 21-16, 21-10. The Chinese player plays Shon Wan Ho in the second round after his win over Chan Yan Kit in three games.

Peter Gade’s campaign begun in the middle of day 1 with a match against Dicky Palyama, the 42-minute encounter provided a stern test for the Danish 5th seed but he progressed into round 2 with a 21-17, 21-17 win. He plays Indonesian Simon Santoso in the second round in another of the top matches on Thursday. There was wins for Joachim Persson and Kenichi Tago, with the Japanese player defeating 7th seed Tien Minh Nguyen 21-10, 21-17. Persson and Tago will meet in Round 2.

The three Chinese seeds in the bottom half all progressed with varying results, Chen Jin saving a match point to win the third game in his match 22-20 to set up a round 2 clash with Rajiv Ouseph of England. Bao Chunlai defeated Marc Zweibler 21-7, 21-7 to show his credentials for the title and will play Park Sung Hwan in round 2. However, the second seeded Lin Dan was the main attraction of Round 1 with his first match of 2010. He played Danish qualifier Christian Lind Thomsen in his opening round match and after trailing 4-1 in the opening game, never let his Danish opponent lead the remainder of the match, winning 21-16, 21-15 to progress into round 2.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2HAQJL1wps[/youtube]

Women’s Singles:

Wang Yihan begun her defence against Ella Diehl of Russia and was duely tested, coming through 21-19, 21-19 to set up a round 2 match with Yu Hirayama of Japan. It was a mixed day for the Chinese ladies, with Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Xin progressing easily in two games. The 3rd seed Jiang Yanjiao winning 21-18, 21-9 and Wang Xin, the fifth seed winning 21-8, 21-10.

The major shock of round 1 is the 2nd seed Wang Lin crashing out to Eriko Hirose of Japan 10-21, 21-16, 21-18. Hirose will now play Tine Rasmussen in the second round after the Dane defeating Kim Moon Hi 21-19, 21-16. Wang Shixian also suffered a surprise defeat to Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia, losing out 21-13, 15-21, 21-16 who will now go on to play Jiang Yanjiao in the second round.

World champion Lu Lan safely progressed with a 21-6, 21-12 win over Yip Pui Yin and will play Scotland’s Susan Egelstaff in the second round, after she defeated Sayaka Sato 21-9, 21-19. Lu Lan is the now the highest seed left in the bottom half as the 4th seeded Pi Hongyan was beaten by Juliane Schenk 21-23, 21-12, 21-15. The other seed in the bottom half, Saina Nehwal won her match against Judith Meulendijks 21-18, 21-11 to set up a round 2 match with Bae Youn Joo, the Malaysian Super Series finalist.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqAm0pT9AN0[/youtube]

Mens Doubles:

Former world champions Paaske and Rasmussen claimed a stunning victory in their 21-13, 21-11 win over top seeds Koo and Tan in the opening round and will play Ko and Yoo of Korea in the second round tomorrow. 3rd seeded Kido and Setiawan had to battle through a three-game encounter with Sato and Kawamae of Japan to progress into tomorrow’s second round, winning 21-15, 16-21, 21-18.

In the bottom half, Cai and Fu came through in three games over Ahsan and Septano of Indonesia to book their place in round 2 against Kim and Shin of Korea. Robert Blair was forced to retire with the same injury that forced him out of the German Open final, allowing a free pass for Fang and Lee of Chinese Taipei who play the 4th seeds Boe and Mogensen in round 2 after the Danish pair defeated Hayakawa and Kazuno 21-14, 21-14.

The remaining seeds in the bottom half progressed safely, with Xu and Guo of China coming back from a game down to win their match and will play Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson of England in round 2. The 2nd seeds Lee and Jung are safely through after a 21-12, 21-11 win over Elbjorn and Skovgaard of Denmark.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv7QJxJrg9g[/youtube]

Women’s Doubles:

7 of the 8 seeds are through to round 2, with Chin and Wong seeded 4th suffering a shock 22-20, 21-15 defeat to Jauhari and Polii of Indonesia. Du and Yu safely progressed 21-9, 21-16 and the top seeds will play Russia’s Sorokina and Vislova in round 2. Ma and Wang seeded 2, won their opening round match 21-16, 21-10 and will play Amitapai and Munkit of Thailand in the second round who defeated Mason and Bankier of Scotland in round 1.

Mixed Doubles:

Top seeds Zheng and Ma are safely into round 2 and face another Chinese pair in Zhang and Shao in tomorrow’s second round, with both Chinese pairs coming through in two games. Another Chinese pair, He and Yu are also safely through to round 2, with a 21-14, 21-10 win over Fang and Wang of Chinese Taipei. They are scheduled to play Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier in round 2 but that match may not go ahead depending on Blair’s leg injury.

The fourth Chinese pair in the top half are also through, 6th seeded Tao and Zhang defeated Russian pair Nikolaenko and Sorokina 21-10, 21-14 to book their place against Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiucyzk of Poland, the Hong Kong Super Series winners.

World champions Laybourn and Rytter Juhl are safely into round 2 and will play Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork in the second round. 3rd seeded and Olympic champions Lee and Lee came back from a game down to win their match against Liao and Chen of Chinese Taipei and face an all-Korean second round match against Yoo and Kim. Second seeded Natsir and Widianto also fought back from losing the first game to progress into round 2, winning 17-21, 21-13, 21-9 to set up a match with Careme and Choinet of France.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the highlight of tonight’s matches was the match between Jan O Jorgensen and the top seeded Peter Gade. Gade has been the top Dane for the last decade with little challenge to that place, but tonight Jorgensen showed us that he is serious about being the replacement. The young Dane got off to a slow start losing the first game 7-21, and at that point it certainly looked like we were about to see a bloodbath. However, much like last night’s match against Eric Pang where Jorgensen lost the first game 9-21, he managed to turn things around winning the second game 21-17. Through the whole match Gade looked very calm, while Jorgensen looked much more hyped up and even nervous at times. In the end Jorgensen won the match by charging the net and finding himself with all the expectations of a nation. The final score was 7-21, 21-17, 21-16, and now Jorgensen will face Simon Santoso of Indonesia. Overall it was a good night for the home crowd as the majority of their players had success, the only exceptions being in the men’s doubles where Paaske/Rasmussen and Henriksen/Kristiansen both lost their matches. Paaske/Rasmussen lost to an inspired looking Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong fairly quickly, 21-11, 21-16.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69p4Zx0_-RU[/youtube]

While Jorgensen is grabbing all of the attention, there is another Cinderella story in the making for German player Marc Zwiebler. Zwiebler certainly has not had the benefit of an easy draw as he had to knock out both of Malaysia’s single’s players, Wong Choong Han and Hafiz Hashim, en route to his quarter-final match against Chen Long. While his previous two matches were quite close this match was much more comfortable as he won 21-16, 21-13. Next up Zwiebler has Sony Dwi Kuncoro, the tournaments second seed.

Another year and another World Championships is over, new World Champions have been crowned whilst some continue their domination of the sport. It was a tournament full of surprises, from England’s withdrawal on the eve of the Championships to seeing Lin Dan seeded a mere fifth.

The Winners:

He might have been seeded fifth, but Lin Dan is still the best player in the world. He almost eased into the tournament with three simple wins in under 90 minutes, and then hit top form when it mattered against Peter Gade, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Chen Jin to win his third straight World Championship.

Lu Lan came in as China’s 4th best player, but now she is World Champion. Beating four of the top ten seeds on her way to the world title without losing a set is a remarkable achievement for the 22-year old. She defeated Xie Xingfang and Wang Lin on her way to the world title to declare herself as the number one player in China and in the world.

Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng’s lack of tournament experience this year did little to hinder their progress at this years world championship, but had to come through the most remarkable match of the Championships in the final against Lee and Jung where they had a to save two Championship points at before taking the title at their sixth match point, winning 28-26 in the third game in a 75 minute epic.

Zhao and Zhang came in as China 4th best women’s doubles partnership but they showed the depth and quality of the nation by defeating two higher Chinese seeds on their way to their first World title. Their stunning win over Ha and Kim in the quarterfinal will live long in the memory.

The only non-Chinese winner and a first gold for Denmark since 2003 as Laybourn and Rytter Juhl take the mixed doubles title, beating the top three seeds on their way to the title. It is an event that the Chinese haven’t won since 2001 and a result that will boost the game as a whole in Europe that the Asian stranglehold can be broken.

The Surprises:

Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan rolled back the years at this years World Championship, unseeded and unfancied at the start of the week they went on a run that turned them from no-hopers to contenders for the title. Only a narrow defeat in the quarterfinal robbed them of another run at the world title.

Jan O Jorgensen’s run to the quarterfinals could be the first look into the future of Danish badminton and to continue the legacy of outstanding men’s singles players. The 21-year old gave Taufik Hidayat a real scare in the last 8 before narrowly losing out, but don’t count out another run by Jorgensen next year.

The Disappointments:

Paaske and Rasmussen’s shock round 2 defeat was one of the big disappointments of the opening three days of action. Their half of the draw opened up with the withdrawal of Kido and Setiawan but the 2005 World Championships fell at the first hurdle.

There was a lot of harsh criticism of Lee Chong Wei’s defeat to Sony Dwi Kuncoro in the quarterfinal stage on the live-blog that was onsite during the World Championships, but that is not my reason for putting him down as a disappointment. I think he was the only genuine contender to Lin Dan this year and we were almost robbed on their potential semi-final encounter, a victory over Lee Chong Wei would have made Lin Dan’s three-peat all the more impressive.